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Behind the Curtain: Republicans eye 2016

Barack Obama disproved the first notion with his victory in 2008, but Mitt Romney and his few loyal minions are now pushing the second.

Their version of recent history is simple: Romney did not lose because of any lack of personal attributes or campaign skills. He did not lose because of any of his protect-the-rich, sneer-at-the-middle-class policies. He did not lose because his campaign failed miserably at its most basic function, turning out the vote.

No, none of that mattered. Romney lost, according to Romney, because a secret was kept from him. A trap was sprung on him at the last moment: Black people can vote! Hispanic people can vote! Young people can vote!

Hordes of these people have been living among us for decades, their numbers ever increasing. Strictly speaking, this has not happened in secret. Strictly speaking, the increased voting power of minorities has been tracked and written about for years and brought to the attention of the Republican Party by Republican strategists at least a dozen years ago.

Still, it was a shock. And vastly unfair. As Ashley Parker of The New York Times reported, Romney summed up the reason for his loss to his fundraisers and donors shortly after Election Day. Obama had followed what Romney called the “old playbook” of seeking votes from specific interest groups “especially the African-American community, the Hispanic community and young people.”

And, in each case, Romney said, the Obama people “were very generous in what they gave to those groups.”

It was bribery, pure and simple.

Mitt, on the other hand, felt compelled by his strict upbringing to stick to the high road “talking about big issues for the whole country: military strategy, foreign policy, a strong economy, creating jobs and so forth.”

The “and so forth” included tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, which was also part of Mitt’s strict upbringing.

So when you get right down to it, Mitt had no chance, even though he and his supporters raised a billion dollars and campaigned for years. Obama was a minority, he promised stuff to minorities and so he won. Simple as that.

Readers' Comments (62)

Unfortunately for them, the Republicans don't seem to be able to get past the fact that the good ol rich white guy isn't going to get the job done come election time. They show no interest in breaking that stereotype. Witness their complete unwillingness to allow letting the Bush tax rate on the wealthy expire. They're sending a clear signal that they reject what the majority of the country voted for and instead insist that the country just go over the financial cliff instead of making the uber-wealthy pay a fairer share of taxes.

I look forward to 2014 when their failed policies, Grover Norquist, John Boehner, and their faltering precious tea party are going to take some more brutal body blows in the elections.

The GOP post mortem of the election has perhaps been the hardest to take. It is difficult as a black female physician (with a college-age daughter) to truely hear how disparaging Republicans have been of their fellow human beings.You always suspect the prejudice but it is so painful to actually hear it said and know deep down this is what they believe- from Romney, OReilly, Stevens etc.

I believe the negative ripple effects of how they ran this election cycle will stay with them for a long time. In the end it comes down to respect and civility. It will be hard to forget ....

I really wish people would stop pulling this media loves Obama canard. No one was lavished with more attention and adoration in 08 than McCain before he picked Palin. The month of April should have been deemed Rev Wright month, because that's all we heard. Even though McCain had Falwell- an endorsement he sought but no one said a peep. And you tare not "loved" by the media when people * Anderson Cooper* go all the way across the world to see where you went to Middle School.

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Fastforward to 2012 and while Mitt was never loved by the media, the media's hate for Obama (because he didn't kiss their rings) shined through. Till this day, No one knows anything about Mitt Romney or his past in France or his past in Massachussetts (documents trashed) or his past in Utah. No, the media gave Romney a pass in order to stick it to Obama.

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Let's not forget Peggy Noonan who claimed the Obama camp was dump because they were relying on nerds with calculators- we know how well that worked out.

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The media would do well to report the news rather than make money off of their books about the campaign. This causes them to play this endless who won the day nonsense. And then they corroborate their opinion by citing polls. So not only do they peddle their own crap they also use it.

What the Marxist Democrats on here seem to be missing is that Romney won the senior vote by a significant margin!

Now that we know the birth rate in the US is declining, even among immigrants - including illegal immigrants -- we know that the demographics in this country is going to become even more biased toward seniors.

What this portends is that the Marxist Democrats are the ones that are going to see their power base decline significantly.

It is seniors that need to see an economically vibrant US economy with lots of new jobs in order to support Medicare and SS.

THIS IS A RESOUNDING MESSAGE FOR SENIORS.

Even brown, black, and yellow seniors will come to understand this as the population ages.

The Marxist Democrats simply cannot provide a vibrant, growing economy with lots of new jobs. It's a result of their Marxist philosophy. Marxism has *NEVER* been able to produce an economy that can grow.

That's why China and Russia are *both* moving toward higher levels of capitalism, e.g. eliminating estate taxes, while the US is moving toward *more* Marxism. That's why China and Russia are growing their economies at 6% or greater while we are growing at 2% and DECLINING!!!!

It *is* the Marxist Democrats that should be worried about their demographics, not the Republicans

To upside22, you seem to ignore the fact that people of color, Latinos and other minority groups are aging at the same rate as rich old white guys. You honestly think after years of voting for Democrats they're going to switch over to vote Republican just because they've aged some?

Maybe you have a point and many members of the mentioned groups will be in the top 2% of income. They'll still lean Democratic even then.

As for your inane, childish attempt to insult progressives by repeatedly referring to them as Marxists, you are merely proving that you have absolutely no understanding of Marxism, what it is, how it works. America's Democrats are not Marxists simply because you disagree with them.

Will Republicans really do some serious soul searching? Will it lead to real change, as in change of heart and thinking? I doubt it. Just four million votes, they'll say to themselves. That's all we lost by. Romney's vaunted interfaced ground game fell apart on Election Day. We'll copycat the Democrats' ground game and technology. Romney was a Wall Streeter running in a climate highly unfavorable to Wall Streeters -- and he almost won! We're not Wall Streeters (though we secretly serve them slavishly), so we won't have that reputational drag. Romney was a Mormon, for Christ's sake! We're not Mormons and won't have that voter repellant. Romney was too obscenely wealthy with a built-in superiority in mannerisms and speech ("you people"). We're not like that. Romney was no born politician or even a good cultivated one who could connect with the people he met. We're much better people persons than he was. Romney wasn't really a Republican, more RINO than anything. We're real Republicans, which should help us. Romney couldn't articulate well the conservative vision -- even with cue cards -- but we can, and from the heart. Romney hired a campaign team that misfired at every given opportunity. We'll hire a crackerjack group of managers.

I could go on, but you get the point: there is no end to the rationalizations Republicans can and will conjure to delude themselves into believing no real soul searching or change of heart and thinking is required in order to win in 2016. I hope I'm wrong, but I fear I'm not.

You really can't use the 'Hispanic' card until you know what the term means. But once again, Tea Partyiers speak with no clue. Rubio isn't Hispanic, he's Cuban. But we know what you mean. 'You know, one of 'them'.'

So you look "Forward" to one party rule, and over $18 trillion in national debt, and heading toward $20 trillion. And you also look "Forward" to the complete demise of the GOP and Tea Party...or their evolution into a branch of the Democrat Party. In either case, all of this accelerates the firm establishment of Socialism to be followed by the next step within a decade or so.

If so, what a bleak future, except for the party faithful...all other citizens will be quietly ushered into the gulag.

By taking the position that immigrants should follow the existing rules about how to become a citizen, that hurt his chances with those that came here illegally, and want to jump to the head of the line by yelling the loudest.

Yes, Romney was hurt by the labor vote.

By trying to address the labor system that had made American labor uncompetitive in most but near monopolistic situations, he spoke a message that sacrifices will have to be made to avoid a worse fate as time goes on.

By trying to address the unsustainable spending imbalances on social welfare programs that have already failed in europe, he drove away those who benifitted from handouts from the government.

Yes, Romney was hurt by the youth vote.

Those who dare to believe that what Obama says is true and sustainable, but have short memories and little historical context. Those that would like to believe that you can have everything you ever dreamed, but someone else will pay for it most definitely favor Obama.

Romney was hurt by the misunderstanding that American people prefer handouts to hard work, to freebies today rather than a sustainable tomorrow. That inciting devisive politics and then positioning yourself as the solution is effective.

In the long run, lets pray it is only Romney that is really being hurt.

By taking the position that immigrants should follow the existing rules about how to become a citizen, that hurt his chances with those that came here illegally, and want to jump to the head of the line by yelling the loudest.

Yes, Romney was hurt by the labor vote.

By trying to address the labor system that had made American labor uncompetitive in most but near monopolistic situations, he spoke a message that sacrifices will have to be made to avoid a worse fate as time goes on.

By trying to address the unsustainable spending imbalances on social welfare programs that have already failed in europe, he drove away those who benifitted from handouts from the government.

Yes, Romney was hurt by the youth vote.

Those who dare to believe that what Obama says is true and sustainable, but have short memories and little historical context. Those that would like to believe that you can have everything you ever dreamed, but someone else will pay for it most definitely favor Obama.

Romney was hurt by the misunderstanding that American people prefer handouts to hard work, to freebies today rather than a sustainable tomorrow. That inciting devisive politics and then positioning yourself as the solution is effective.

In the long run, lets pray it is only Romney that is really being hurt.

In a Democracy, elected representatives are allowed to offer bills and amendments to Congress. But only in America, are duly elected representatives of the people PREVENTED from bring bills and amendments to the floor os the Senate. This happened when Senate Majority Leader, Democrat Harry Reid, refused to allow bipartisan legislation to come to the floor of the Senate during the A.C.A. (ObamaCare) legislation.